New subject: Client-server request-response contract meeting minutes

28 Jun 2016

*Action items:*

   - Audit any assumptions apps make about contents of HTML returned by API
   and make tickets for tests [*Jon Robson*]
      - Make sure all edge cases are covered e.g. What if srcset is not
      present? What if there are no img and the figure tag is being used?
         - Rely less on HTML wherever possible - explore if it would make
         more sense to pull out metadata in API responses
            - Capture in a task for Reading Web team to write a
            MobileFrontend test to protect app requirements
            - Write new tests for MobileFrontend (wherever they make most
            sense) to make sure they cover what is needed by iOS and
Android and they
            need to be triggered by MobileFrontend commits
               - Could add some MCS tests for HTML content

   - Look into hooking up Jenkins Android / iOS to the mobile front end
   tests so that MobileFrontend merges are blocked when they break things in
   apps [*Corey Floyd + Michael Holloway*]
      - Explore if TemplateData could be used by Apps for replacing editor
      created template constructs e.g. infobox

   - Look at testing apps against beta cluster [*Monte Hurd*]

   - Android / iOS should try to get CSS / JavaScript into MobileFrontend
   more rather than changing it on the client [T137992
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T137992>]

*Copy and paste of Etherpad
<https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Client-server> for posterity:*

Agenda
9:00-9.15: What happened. Let's get a shared understanding of the problem
hit. Demo would be useful here if this can be arranged.
9:15-9.40: How could this have been avoided? What APIs would have made it
better?
9:40-10:00: Actions/story writing.

...
 From Google invite: 

   - "I think this is something we should probably discus more next week -
   probably as a separate meeting. It would be good to talk about the
   strategies we use in the apps to get the content and what we can do to
   improve them. This is also very relevant for the content service."

   -

   - I've marked some as mandatory and some as optional, but I don't think
   it would hurt to join and even just listen passively even if you're
   optional, especially if you have an interest.

   -

   - The removal of srcset led to some breakage in the iOS app's galleries.

   -

Notes:

    App clients have two different calls:
        Meta data: search, something powering the feed
        Content: HTML <-- This is where the issue is.

    HTML content:

   -     HTML is valid but... We extract somethings (with selector queries)
   to do things natively. This is kind of hacky generally because content is
   tough and variable. For example, table of contents (the sections themselves
   are parsed out server side...? it's pulled down and seperated). Any changes
   to the structure of this HTML can break things.

   - Content Service does this kind of thing too but at least the output is
   from Parsoid.

   - Web does very little with HTML content. The stuff we do is very
   minimal. Somethings get stripped out but generally considered small.

   - More tests would be nice for content specifically. For instance, if
   you clients are expected a src set, then write a test for that.

   - iOS added a test for srcset. Content Service has lots of content tests.

   - It's tricky for native apps since the tests are written in a different
   environment than the other app tests? Just need to make sure the HTML isn't
   messed up.

   - MobileFrontend has some Jenkins automated tests. Probably could use
   some fleshing out to make sure they cover whatever the apps need. This
   won't be super simple.

   - Can we move some of the Android screenshot tests to Mobile Frontend
   somehow?

   - testwiki gets code drops on tuesdays

   - beta cluster (en[.m].wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org) gets whatever's
   merged to master like within 30 minutes of merge

   -

Action items:
    Audit any assumptions apps makes about contents of HTML returned by API and
make tickets for tests [JR]

   -     Make sure all edge cases are covered e.g. What if srcset is not
   present? What if there are no img and the figure tag is being used?

   - Rely less on HTML wherever possible - explore if it would make more
   sense to pull out metadata in API responses

   - Capture in a task for Reading Web team to write a MobileFrontend test
   to protect app requirements

   -     Write new tests for MobileFrontend (wherever they make most sense)
   to make sure they cover what is needed by iOS and Android and they need to
   be triggered by MobileFrontend commits

   -     Content Service is used by Android and already has a lot of tests,
   remaining tests are integration level screenshot tests

   - Could add some MCS test for HTML content

   - Look into hooking up Jenkins Android / iOS to the mobile front end
   tests so that MobileFrontend merges are blocked when they break things
   in apps [CF + MHolloway]

Explore if TemplateData could be used by Apps for replacing editor created
template constructs e.g. infobox
Look at testing apps against beta [MHurd]
Android / iOS should try to get CSS / JavaScript into MobileFrontend more
rather than changing it on the client [
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T137992]